3. Frank Lloyd Wright Agreed to Design the Building After Guggenheim Sent Him a Letter

Image via Wikimedia: public domain

Given the intensive undertaking that designing Guggenheim’s dream museum turned out to be (involving almost 12 years, 7 different designs, and hours consulting with both Guggenheim and Rebay), one would think that the legendary American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, knew the pair beforehand. He did not. Rebay and Guggenheim wrote him a letter, Rebay paid the commission, and Wright got to work, eager to try his naturally organic design influences in a stark urban setting. Unfortunately, neither Guggenheim nor Wright lived to see the final product, as the museum that we see today opened in 1959, months after Wright’s death and a full 10 years after Guggenheim’s.